World Cruise - Day 72 - Mar 24 - Saigon, Vietnam - Part 2

[Part 2 of 2]

We went to the Hundred Years Red Cathedral (Notre Dame Cathedral) in central Saigon:

It is across the street from the post office, a building built during French rule:

I snapped this pic outside the post office of some smaller kids as well as middle school kids out on a field day:

Krissie got a $1 local beer at the post office.  The map behind her is the original map of French Indochina during French rule in the area:

There was a photo session taking place outside with a bride and groom:

I caught this pic of the veil in the air (no wind—there was a person holding it up who has just let go and stepped back out of the frame) with Krissie against the wall of the post office above the veil in the background:

Rex Hotel, where a lot of the press reports took place during the Vietnam War:

City Hall in the central part of the city:

Saigon has several large modern buildings, including this skyscraper that rises in the distance behind another tall building:

Inside the Rex Hotel at the fish tank.  Do you see the pretty girl on the other side of the tank?

Our group posing at Rex Hotel:

We ate lunch at Pho 2000, where Bill Clinton had eaten when he was in Saigon:

Our lunch at Pho 2000:

I had beef and noodles, a traditional Vietnamese dish, along with coconut water:

After lunch, we strolled through the Ben Thanh Market across the street:

They sold pretty much everything there, including an array of shoes:

We only had 15 minutes at the market, so just enough time to walk through:

The market also sold fresh produce, rice and nuts:

A wide variety of dried fruits and nuts for sale:

Outside was a fish market and meat market:

Around the outside of the market were more people selling fruits and vegetables:

One thing that you see very commonly in Vietnam is men sitting in this type of position:

This “sitting” position is used when there is no chair available and avoids sitting directly on the ground, which is usually rather dirty.  This guy is eating his lunch:

Then we went to the Presidential Palace, which has been preserved as it was when the communists took over in 1975:

There are still tanks on the premises that are reminiscent of the tanks rolling through the gates during the Fall of Saigon (known in Vietnam as the Liberation of Saigon):

Also a plane from the Vietnam War:

President’s office.  He considered himself to be a leopard, which is why he had a stuffed leopard on the nearby drawers:

The Presidential office had two escape routes: one to the basement, which then had a tunnel to the airport; the other was to the roof, where a helicopter was kept waiting (and is still on display):

The view from the Presidential Palace looking toward the city:

One of the tour guides in the Presidential Palace was wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress:

Our last stop of the day was at a lacquer factory.  They were making all sorts of lacquered items there:

This man was making designs with eggshells:

It was an actual working factory, unlike many of the so-called “factories” that are merely a front for a showroom to sell stuff:

…but yes, they did have a showroom, where it was fun to look at the finished products:

We saw this snake creation during our drive back:

This is the local Honda dealer.  Really, it is.  Honda seemed to be the most popular brand of scooter:

I caught this pic of this guy with two kids on his scooter on our way back:

And this guy turned the corner with his two oxen and his cart:

These people were out working the rice fields.  About 70% of Vietnamese are farmers, most doing rice farming:

The entertainer tonight was Sean O’Shea, who did impressions of various singers, including the obligatory Elvis impression:

We stayed up to watch Movies Under the Stars on the pool deck tonight, since there is no Zumba tomorrow morning.  The movie was New Year’s Eve with Robert De Niro.  Pretty hokey.  But I had a hot date and we were the only ones out there.  Best quote from the movie: “What would you do with your life if you could not fail?  Now go out there and do it.”

Tomorrow is sea day #1 of 1 on our way to Laem Chabang, Thailand.